Verona Lake
Essex County, New Jersey13 acresView mapDirections
NJDEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Verona Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Impaired biota (cause unknown)
- Limited data
Verona Lake in Essex County, New Jersey has water-quality measurements published by NJDEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 108.7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 26.1 µg/L. Surface area: 13 acres.
Verona Lake is a 13-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Essex County, New Jersey. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Essex County, Verona Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, your state environmental agency, last sampled 2021-10-27. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyBacteria advisory
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Verona Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for impaired biota (cause unknown), metals (other than mercury), nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pathogens (E. coli, fecal), salinity / chlorides. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Verona Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Verona Lake
These are the measurements NJDEP publishes for Verona Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 2.6 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 108.7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 26.1 µg/L. TSI 66.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 109µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 26.1µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 66 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
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Lake Details
Surface area
13 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Verona Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Verona Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Verona Lake in Essex County, New Jersey — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Verona Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Verona Lake
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Fishing Verona Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Verona Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Verona Lake Dam (completed 1903), built primarily for recreation on the Peckman River; masonry-type dam, 13 ft tall and 438 ft long.
- Surface area
- 13 ac
- Normal storage
- 52 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 90 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 2.2 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- County of Essex Department of Public Works
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NJ00386 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Verona Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Drinking water, Aquatic life, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NJ02030103120010-01 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Essex County
Frequently asked questions about Verona Lake
Where is Verona Lake?
- Verona Lake is a lake in Essex County, New Jersey. Its water-quality measurements are published by NJDEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Verona Lake?
- Verona Lake in Essex County, New Jersey has water-quality measurements published by NJDEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 108.7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 26.1 µg/L. Surface area: 13 acres.
Is Verona Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Verona Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for impaired biota (cause unknown), metals (other than mercury), nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pathogens (E. coli, fecal), salinity / chlorides. Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
45 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-21.
Collected and reported by
- NJDEP Bureau of Freshwater and Biological Monitoring
NJDEP_BFBM45 samples · 2021
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
Monitoring station identifiers (3)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database